The Famicom (NES) launched in 1983. More than 40 years later, the games we still call classics are holding their value on the used market, and when someone streams one, younger viewers pile into the chat with “wait, this actually rules.” So what exactly is it that makes fun survive four decades? The answer is…

The Super Famicom — known in the West as the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) — launched on November 21, 1990. As Nintendo’s 16-bit successor to the Famicom, it arrived with the graphics, sound chip, and processing muscle to repaint the entire gaming landscape. Chrono Trigger, Dragon Quest V, Street Fighter II — the SNES…